Good writing doesn't happen overnight. You'll find plenty of examples of bloggers who think good writing simply means mastering the rules of grammar. Their blog posts are technically precise, but boring as hell. You'll also find plenty of examples of bloggers who think writing is secondary to good ideas. Not so. You're writing, so I would recommend you give ample attention to how to write.
Here are some tips for better writing that you can use today. I promise you, if you put these tips into use, and if you commit to them, you will see an improvement in your writing.
1. Read. Read. Read
Writers who don't read are fooling themselves. You have to read. I'm not talking about the next James Patterson thriller or your favorite romance novelist. I'm talking about highly crafted writing. If you don't like poetry, then look for personal essays with a literary flair. Check out The Sun magazine. Their website gives snippets of the essays or articles in the print magazine. You should also try The Atlantic or The New Yorker, both of which have very high quality writing.
Once you've done some of that fancy writing, go check out your favorite blogs and think about which posts are interesting and which aren't. Which posts keep you reading, and which do you give up on?
Don't just read, but think. Why did you stop reading an article or post? Was the language too stuffy? Was the vocabulary too impossible? Was it just flat-out boring? Do the same for articles or blog posts you loved. You'll have to think about why you like or dislike something if you're going to understand how to replicate it.
2. Writing is revising
Even the best writers in the world have to write terrible first drafts. Some of us edit as we write (which is actually a bad habit), but that takes talent and skill. Frankly, I don't recommend it. Far too often I trip myself up by trying to edit too early, and I never get any momentum.
Blogging seems to encourage writing off the cuff and then publishing without a second thought. Maybe you're a brilliant writer who can get away with that, but then I doubt you would've read this far if that were true. So accept the fact that your writing probably needs some work, and revise before you publish.
Writing is a craft. It's something you create, piece together. You don't get a special award for writing a perfect piece on the first try.
3. Imitate others
In the first tip, I mentioned replicating what you like in others' writing. Imitation is a critical part of learning how to write. Don't steal someone's material, but if you liked the way another blogger laid out a post, or if you loved how someone addressed a certain topic, then don't be afraid to do the same. If you feel weird copying someone else's writing techniques, then just think of it like they're your trainer, and you're practicing. Or think of it as a rehearsal.
4. Read the newspaper
Journalists have learned how to structure a story so that all of the most important information is at the top. They called it the inverted pyramid. Everything you need to know (the wide base of a standard pyramid) is at the top. The rest of the article slowly tapers to the pyramid's point, with increasingly specific - but nonessential - information. The benefit for journalists is twofold. First, people get everything they need to know if the first paragraph. If they want to move on to another article, then so be it. Second, when the editors need to cut an article for space, it's easy and acceptable to lop off the end, since that information is nonessential to the story.
Think about that for a minute. All of the most essential information - everything you really need to know about a story - is in the first paragraph of a newspaper article. That's intense! That's some seriously concise writing.
And that's what you can learn from newspapers as a blogger.
You don't need to use an inverted pyramid in your blog posts, but you should be concise with your language. If you're going to write 2,000 words, it should be a tight 2,000 words, not something you could just as effectively convey in 500 words.
5. Take a class
I put this at the end only because writing workshops can get expensive, and they're not always helpful. I've participated in several workshops, and it depends on the quality of the students and the quality of the leader.
However, a writing workshop should still teach you some fundamentals of good writing. You'll get feedback from your leader and feedback from your fellow students. It hardly hurts to have several sets of eyes looking for ways to improve your writing. Just be sure you don't take criticism personally.
6. Finally, practice writing everyday
The more you write, and the more you read, the better you'll get. I've been a student of the writing craft, both independently and as a college student, for 12 years now, and where I am today is worlds away from where I was when I started.
You will get better, but only if you commit.
